Inflation Calculator (US, BR, EU)

What is the CPI?

The Consumer Price Index measures the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services — housing, food, transportation, healthcare, education and so on. It is the most common metric for inflation. Each country publishes its own series: the US BLS CPI-U goes back to 1913 and is rebased to 1982-84 = 100; Brazil’s IPCA is published by the IBGE and uniquely covers the hyperinflation era of 1985–1994 (peak: ~2,477% in 1993); the Eurozone’s HICP is harmonized across member states and starts in 1996. To convert any amount, multiply by the ratio of the two indices: $100 in 1980 × (CPI₂₀₂₆ / CPI₁₉₈₀) gives today’s equivalent purchasing power. The annualized rate is the geometric mean of the inflation distributed over the years.

How to use the calculator

1. Enter the amount of money you want to convert.
2. Pick the from year — the year that amount was originally spent.
3. Pick the to year — usually the current year, but you can go forward or backward in time.
4. Choose the country — each uses its own CPI series.
5. Read the equivalent amount, the cumulative inflation percentage and the average annual rate.

How the math works

Equivalent value uses a simple ratio of the two CPI indices. Annualized rate is computed as a geometric mean over the year span.

Equivalent = Amount × (CPI_to / CPI_from)

Annualized Rate = (CPI_to/CPI_from)^1/years − 1

What $1 / R$1 / €1 was worth across years

Approximate values from official CPI series.

Brazil before 1995 covers the hyperinflation era — numbers are pre-Real cruzeiros and are highly compressed.

Frequently asked questions